1 posts from January 30, 2013

January 30, 2013

Though UM's investigation into baseball strength and conditioning coach Jimmy Goins is still underway, the UM administration is under the impression that Goins did not give performance enhancing drugs to players currently at UM, or to players when they were attending UM. If that turns out to be the case, UM would not be vulnerable to any punishment from the NCAA.

If Goins purchased the PEDs, as The Miami New Times alleged, it's unclear to UM if he purchased them for himself or for players who had already moved on from UM and were playing in the major leagues or minor leagues. Goins' attorney has denied the New Times story.

Goins has been placed on suspension because of the seriousness of the allegations.

One UM official said the school has a stringent drug testing policy -- more stringent than many other schools - and that no UM baseball players are known to have been suspended for a failed drug test in at least the past few years.

UM does random drug testing every week, including some in the offseason, according to a player.

Meanwhile, at least one MLB official remains in Miami, investigating the case. They have focused partly on MLB players who use UM's training facilities during the winter.

Notes and thoughts after splendid second halves in satisfying road wins by the Heat and Hurricanes on Wednesday night:

### Heat-Nets looks and feels like a mismatch should the teams meet in the second round or the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat swept the three-game season series, winning by 30 and 13 in Miami and trouncing the Nets by 20 tonight in their only visit to Brooklyn this season. Miami has won 13 in a row against the Nets overall.

### Nets forward Reggie Evans said earlier Wednesday that beating the defending champs "doesn't prove nothing. It was a lockout season." Then Evans said something even dumber when asked to assess LeBron James as an offensive threat: "LeBron is no different from Joe Johnson or Andray Blatche."

James delivered a stern reply after the game, acknowledging Evans' remarks motivated him: "No one knows what it takes until you've done it," James said. "...He hasn't done it...Look at his numbers [no offensive rebounds Wednesday for a rebounding specialist]. We did our number on him."

### The Heat’s third quarter -- Miami outscored the Nets 36-14 to break a halftime tie -- was arguably its best of the season. James (24 points) and Dwyane Wade (21) were highly efficient, but also credit Mario Chalmers for outplaying Deron Williams.

Chalmers had 11 points, four assists, three steals and no turnovers. Williams had nine points, five assists and six turnovers. If only Good Mario would make more frequent appearances.

### Udonis Haslem’s numbers were modest (five points, five rebounds), but Miami outscored the Nets by 27 in his 23 minutes on the floor, the best plus/minus of any player.

### In a move that was inevitable, Erik Spoelstra replaced Joel Anthony with Chris Andersen in his rotation, and Andersen made a mark, with three points, five rebounds and a block in 10 minutes. Remember, Andersen ranked among the top dozen power forwards in rebounds per 48 minutes with Denver last season. Anthony has been the NBA’s third-worst center this season in that category.

### Rashard Lewis logged 15 minutes, his second-most since Dec. 4, and played ahead of Mike Miller for the second consecutive game. “Rashard’s size and versatility have given us a good look with the second unit,” Spoelstra said.

### The Heat probably erred this past summer by not seriously considering signing Blatche, who continues to contribute for the Nets. The Heat was scared off by Blatche’s baggage; he was considered something of a knucklehead in Washington.

### Last year, it would have been unfathomable to think UM would win an ACC road game in which Durand Scott shot 2 for 10 and Reggie Johnson 1 for 4. But this is the most complete Hurricanes team in a decade, with the poise and skill to rally from 12 down on the road Wednesday.

### By outscoring Virginia Tech 44-32 in the second half, UM overcame 30 points by Erick Green, the nation’s leading scorer.

### Shane Larkin again made a case to be All-ACC first or second team, with 25 points (9 for 14 shooting), three steals and blocks on two consecutive jump shots. He made the game's biggest shot, a three that extended UM's lead to 63-56 with 1:45 left.

Kenny Kadji came alive in the second half, scoring 14 of his 18 after intermission.

### Johnson has shot only 2 for 13 in his three games back from injury but his 10 rebounds were key Wednesday.

### At 7-0 in the ACC, UM preserved a two-game conference lead over Duke and Virginia.

Couple other quick notes:

### Former Dolphins and Hurricanes offensive lineman Vernon Carey announced he’s coming out of retirement. Carey, 31, became an assistant coach at Miami Northwestern High last season after the Dolphins opted not to re-sign him.

### Al Golden and his staff have done good work recruiting despite the NCAA cloud hanging over the program. But don't think for a minute that the uncertainty hasn't hurt. Alex Collins' coach said Collins has expressed concern about potential NCAA sanctions, and Keith Bryant's former coach said the NCAA issue also has worked heavily against UM with Bryant, who has said he leans toward FSU or South Carolina. Collins is still considering UM (with UF, Arkansas and Wisconsin) and will announce his intentions Monday night.